Paolo Barelli succeeds Nory Kruchten as new LEN President

Paolo Barelli succeeds Nory Kruchten as new LEN President

 

 

Cascais/Portugal (pps) The European Swimming Federation (LEN) has elected a new President for the next four years.Paolo BarelliofItaly, who has acted as LEN Bureau Member since 2008, succeeds Nory Kruchten ofLuxembourgafter his four-year term at the helm. The election was held on Saturday at the LEN Congress in Cascais,25 kilometersaway from the Portuguese capital ofLisbon.

 

After the Congress Barelli declared: “It is our aim to keep up the high level of European Aquatics, although it will not be easy in these economically difficult times. With an effort of the entire LEN team we might be able to get it done.” The 58-year-old Senator from Rome, President of the Italian Swimming Federation since 2000 as well as FINA Honorary Secretary since 2009, can look back upon a successful swimming career. The Olympian (1972, 1976) as well as multiple national title and record holder won bronze at the 1975 World Championships in Cali, which was also the first ever Italian medalat World Swimming Championships.

 

44 of the 51 LEN Member Federations were represented in Cascais. The Congress was honored by the presence ofFINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione as well asFINA Honorary Life President Mustapha Larfaoui.

 

“The past four years as President went by so fast. It was a great honour for someone like me from a small country likeLuxembourgto head an important Federation such as LEN. I think the time is right to pass on the responsibility to my successor. During the last years we intensified the cooperation with the World Swimming FederationFINA”, disclosed Nory Kruchten, looking back on his more than 26 years of combined experience in the LEN Technical SwimmingCommittee andthe LEN Bureau.

 

German Swimming Federation President Dr. Christa Thiel, in 2008 elected first woman among the Executive Members in the history of LEN (since 1927), changed her position from Treasurer to Vice President. Her successor as Treasureris Hungarian TamasGyarfas.Sven Egil FolvikofNorway, who retires from his position as LEN General Secretary will be replaced by David Sparkes (ofGreat Britain). Among the newly elected members of the LEN Bureau are Vladimir Salnikov (RUS), 1980 and 1988 Olympic Swimming Champion, as well as the 1988 OlympicWater Polo ChampionAleksandar Sostar fromSerbia.

 

 

 

Just as his predecessor Bartolo Consolo in 2008, Nory Kruchten has been elected Honorary Life President whileSven Egil Folvik/NOR(until now General Secretary), Gennady Aleshin/RUS (until now Vice President),Kurt Mikkola/FIN(until now Bureau Member), Robert Ebejer/MLT(until now Bureau Member) and Stefania Tudini/ITA (until now Chairwoman of the Technical Synchronized Swimming Committee) are new LEN Honorary Members.

 

 

 

 

 

The new LEN Bureau

 

President:Paolo Barelli (Italy)

 

Vice Presidents: Christa Thiel (Germany), Dimitris Diathesopoulos (Greece), Francis Luyce (France), Erikvan Heijningen (Netherlands), Sven van Holst (Sweden)

 

General Secretary: David Sparkes (Great Britain)

 

Treasurer: Tamas Gyarfas (Hungary)

 

Bureau Members:Ivan Varvodic (Croatia), Andriy Vlaskov (Ukraine), Per Rune Eknes (Norway), Paulo Frischknecht (Portugal), Vladimir Salnikov (Russia), Fernando Carpena Perez (Spain), Hasim Onat Yildrim (Turkey), Aleksandar Sostar (Serbia), andNoam Zwi (Israel).

 

The European representatives to join the Bureau of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) next year inBarcelonaarePaolo Barelli, David Sparkes, Tamas Gyarfas, and Dimitris Diathesopoulos.

 

On Saturday afternoon the newly elected LEN Bureau decided on the composition of the various Technical Committees for the upcoming term. The complete list of the Committees will be published on the LEN website soon ( www.len.eu).

 

The next LEN Congress will be hosted byBritish Swimming,in Edinburgh on 28 September 2013